Bright lights of NYC to become LEDs

New York City is to replace all of its 250,000 standard streetlight fixtures with energy-efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by 2017

The move is part of the New York City’s long-term sustainability programme, PlaNYC, which aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the city’s government operations by 30% by 2017.

The refit will reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs. Compared with the standard high-pressure sodium lights, which a life of six years, LEDs can last up to 20 years, potentially producing an 80% saving on maintenance costs, says the city authority.

Meanwhile, a new report from the US energy department reveals that LED deployment in the US since 2009 has grown from 400,000 to nearly 20 million lights. It says the growth has coincided with a 70% decrease in LED lighting costs.